Cartridge Pleating

Cartridge pleating is a method of gathering large amounts of fabric to a small waistband or shoulder armscye without adding bulk to the seam. It also makes the fabric spring away from the waist or shoulder more than normal box-pleating, knife-pleating or gathering does. It was fashionable for gathering large sleeves to the shoulder on men's clothing during the 15th century, and was also a popular method during the 16th century for attaching full skirts to waistbands and bodices.

This is a basic cartridge pleating how-to for people who liked cartridge pleating and wanted to do it, but were intimidated by the logistics of hand-sewing pleats into place (say "hand-sew" to a machine sewer, and they get nervous). Walk through the process step by step; it's not nearly as hard as it seems at first glance.

Typical skirts in the 16th and 17th centuries were around 75" to 120" of fabric. Men's breeches could contain almost as much fabric. That's a nightmare waiting to happen when you try to pleat all of that fabric into a waistband or bodice. How did they do it in period? This is where the magic of cartridge pleating comes forth, to rescue both our sanity and our fingers from certain doom. This demo shows the basics of this wonderful technique; once you try it, you'll want to use it for all your pleating and that's ok. Cartridge pleating shows up on sleeves, in capes, caps, and bags as well as breeches and skirts.